Toronto’s surge
continued with this past weekend’s home sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, topped
by jumping out to a 9-0 lead in Sunday’s 13-5 victory. The same afternoon saw
Tampa Bay end its seven-game road trip with a 3-1 win over the New York
Yankees, bringing in two late runs to prevail as a 105 underdog.

Toronto has gone 4-3 in
its seven meetings with the Rays this year, while the OVER has cashed at a 5-2
clip. Hellickson has come out on the losing end twice in two starts for Tampa
Bay, with the Blue Jays pulling out a pair of one-run wins.

Rogers stingy at home

Rogers notched his
second straight win with Tuesday’s 8-3 victory for Toronto over the Colorado
Rockies, collecting as 152 home ‘chalk.’ The Dominican Republic native held the
Rockies to two earned runs on four hits, lasting 6 2/3 innings.

Toronto’s Edwin
Encarnacion and J.P. Arencibia each cracked one homer, uniting for five RBIs.
Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, with him
and his mates finishing with 11 hits.

Hellickson goes six for win

Hellickson picked up his
third win in four starts with Wednesday’s 6-2 triumph for Tampa Bay as a 120
road dog against the Boston Red Sox. The 26-year-old allowed two runs over six
innings, giving up seven hits.

Rays second baseman Ben
Zobrist drove in Jose Molina to give their club a 3-2 lead, followed by Evan
Longoria and Wil Myers piling on three insurance RBIs. Tampa Bay’s Desmond
Jennings drilled his ninth homer of the year, while the Rays edged Boston in
hits, 15-7.

Back the OVER in Tampa Bay

Hellickson opened as a
117 home favorite at Bet365, while the shop first listed the ‘total’ at 8 ½
(UNDER minus 120). Sports books William Hill and Ladbrokes followed suit,
posting nearly the same MLB odds.

Hellickson has been
inconsistent in his seven home starts, allowing a 1.24 WHIP. The latest four
affairs saw the righty give up 19 earned runs over 23 2/3 IP, with the OVER
cashing at 3-1.

Toronto’s Jose Bautista
has two homers in a 7-for-15 career mark facing Hellickson, while mates Melky
Cabrera and Adam Lind have hit 9-for-23. The OVER is 4-0 in the Blue Jays’ last
four road games in Tampa Bay, including last month’s 8-7 victory with
Hellickson on the hill.

Rogers has given up a
sizable 1.46 WHIP and .360 OBP on the road as both a starts and reliever. Tampa
Bay has hit .250 at home against right-handed pitching, while the OVER is
12-3-2 in the Rays’ last 17 home dates against a righty starter.